Fishhooks and lures which include weed guard structures are well known. In this regard, conventional weed-guarded fishhooks include a relatively stiff, but inherently resilient, wire element attached at one of its ends to or near the eyelet end of the fishhook. The wire element is sufficiently long so that its free terminal end (i.e., that end which is opposite to the attached end) is capable of being brought into engagement with the fishhook's point. The inherent resiliency of the wire element thus causes the free terminal end to be biased into engagement with the fishhook's point. Since the wire element extends between the eyelet end of the fishhook and its point, the fishhook is essentially "guarded" against entanglement with weeds and other underwater vegetation and/or debris that may be present in the fishing area.
Conventional weed-guarded fishhooks, however, are somewhat problematic since it only takes slight pressure against the wire element to cause it to trip out of engagement with the fishhook's point, thereby defeating its weed-guarding functions. As a result, conventional weed-guarded hooks oftentimes offer only minimal protection against underwater weed snags.
Conventional fishhooks are also known which include one (or more) shank barbs to assist in maintaining live bait on the hook and/or to enhance its hooking power and reliability. However, traditional shank barbs are typically formed by partially cutting a portion of the shank material and then bending the partially cut region outwardly to form a barb which is unitary with the shank. Thus, the size of the shank barb is limited by the nominal shank diameter of the fishhook. That is, conventional shank barbs cannot be so large as to adversely compromise the shank's structural integrity since partially cutting a portion of the shank will necessarily weaken it at that location.
It would therefore be especially desirable if weed-guarded hooks could be provided which more reliably guard the fishhook against entanglement with weeds or other underwater vegetation and/or debris. Furthermore, it would be desirable if fishhooks could be provided with shank barbs of desired size without compromise to the structural integrity of the shank itself. It is towards providing fishhooks which include such improved characteristics that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, according to one aspect of the present invention, improved weed-guarded fishhooks are provided which include a wire element which encircles the shank rearwardly of the fishhook's main barb. In preferred embodiments, the wire element is in the form of an elongate loop having a slide element capable of slidable movements therealong to allow the size adjustment of the wire element loop. Thus, the wire element loop which encircles the shank rearwardly of the fishhook's main barb can be sized to prevent the wire element from becoming disengaged. The wire element thus retains its position when being trolled through even relatively dense underwater vegetation. At the same time, however, the reduced-size wire element loop is sufficiently flexible so that the wire element may pivot laterally in response to increased pressure thereagainst (e.g., as occurs when a fish strikes the hook) to allow the point and barb of the hook to set in the fish.
Alternatively, or optionally, the fishhooks of this invention include significantly longer and larger shank barbs than those capable of being obtained through conventional fabrication techniques. Thus, according to this aspect of the present invention, an enlarged shank barb may be provided by a separate auxiliary wire member which is most preferably bent so as to include shorter and longer legs positioned adjacently parallel to one another. The terminal end of the longer leg includes a rearwardly bent portion forming the shank barb. The longer and shorter legs are then secured to the fishhook shank by suitable adhesive, bonding or over-wrapping. Preferably, however, a section of heat-shrinkable tubing is inserted over the shank so as to cover the longer and shorter legs of the auxiliary wire member. Subsequent heat shrinking of the tubing section will thus securely attach the auxiliary wire member to the fishhook shank.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear after careful consideration is given to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.